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This Chicken Zoodle Casserole takes a spin on the originalPad kee mao Asianstir fry and puts it in casserole form. A paleo friendly zoodle casserole withtons of flavor, Thai spices, and simple healthy ingredients! A delicious, light, high protein, low carbrecipe.
My latest obsession, among many, is making the most out zoodles in the form of spiralizedcomfort food. I don’t know about you, but sometimes plain zucchini noodles get boring.Heck, unless your bugs bunny, we all like to eat vegetables that havesome “Ooompf!” Don’t me wrong, I love the extra veggie consumption spiralized vegetablesadd to dishes, but with that also needs to come moresubstance and/or flavor, ya know? You know I know that you know.
Anyway, comfort food in the form of casseroles and Asian food are my JAM… err Jelly? Yes, noodle bowls, spicy Thai, creamy chicken curry, homestyle tuna (zoodle) andchicken casserole favorites. GLORIOUS I tell you!
So just add this paleo drunken chicken zoodle casserole to the list. Gosh I’ve been wanting to try this for so long. Drunken noodles are amazing, but when you make theminto chicken zoodle casserole form, they are even more amazing. Why? Because you can transport them as a stir fry noodle potluck dish, make for meal prep, or feed the whole family around the table.
I know my Thai and Chinese foodiefriends are shaking their head at me now. I might have just butchered this Asiandish, but hey, don’t knock it till you try it.
HOW TO MAKEEASY DRUNKEN CHICKEN ZOODLECASSEROLE (1 MIN):
EASY DRUNKEN CHICKEN ZOODLECASSEROLE{Paleo friendly}
The reason I chose to create apaleo drunken chicken zoodle casserole out of the original, or pad kee mao, is really for 2 reasons.
Well, besides the comfort food zoodle recipes obsession mention above.
- Pad kee mao, includes egg. In most Thai recipes, anyway. It also contains a copious amount of veggies, herbs, spices, and lean protein. The secret really is in the stir fry sauce, which makes for the perfect casserole concoction.
- Drunken Noodles (pad kee mao)is one ofthe best of Asian comfort food stir fry noodle dishes! THRIFTY TOO! No, it doesn’t include alcohol. I think everyone has their take on this dish, but from what I’ve heard,Drunken Noodles came aboutby someone who came home drunk, had the munchies, and made a dish with just the available ingredients. Aka “Drunkard’s Noodles.” Oh and according to wikipedia, the otherslight variation describesthis dish as a stir noodle recipe that pairs well with alcohol. I’ll let you choose what to believe, mm mm k?
In my opinion,Drunken Noodles stir fryis the Asian version of Mac N Cheese or any otherskillet/one pot wonder. It’s simple. It’s cozy. And you can tailor it to your liking . Ha, which is exactly what I did. Chicken Casserole form ya’ll! Low carbish. Veggies packed. Protein Packed. EGGCELLENT! I used, gluten free tamari soy sauce, palm sugar, peppers, chicken,Thai basil, andbirds eye chili peppers with extrajalapeños. Gasp! I know, more spice. Don’t worry, you can De-spicy this dish. It’s a word. I promise.
Ready to get your chicken zoodle casserole on? Yes you are! Just don’t get drunk, capeesh?
Easy Drunken Zoodle Chicken Casserole
- Author: Lindsay Cotter
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 5-6 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Paleo friendly Drunken Zoodle Chicken Casserole takes a spin on the original Pad kee mao Asian stir fry and puts in casserole form. Light, healthy!
Ingredients
Units Scale
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast (diced)
Ingredients for Stir Fry Sauce:
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce/paste (available in most asian sections at store. Or use Sriracha)
- 2–3 tablespoon gluten free Tamari soy sauce mixed with 1 tablespoon dark sugar (coconut palm sugar, dark brown sugar, or molasses). This creates a dark soy sauce. *
- Pinch of ground ginger
- ¼ tsp kefir lime zest or regular lime (a splash of lime may be substituted)
- salt and pepper to taste
- optional finely diced Thai bird’s eye red pepper for extra spicy
Other Ingredients for the casserole:
- 16 oz (or about 3-4 c Zucchini noodles- zoodles) This equals about 1-2 large zucchini
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil or sesame oil
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2–3 tablespoon tapioca starch or cornstarch
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 cup cut stir fry veggies (i.e. shredded cabbage, sliced carrots, broccoli floret, snap peas, etc.)
- 3 eggs
- 2–3 tablespoon coconut milk
Garnish/Topping:
- Thai basil
- 1 Thai red pepper (see notes for other pepper)
- optional sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a medium casserole dish. Set aside.
- Pat chicken dry with a paper towel then dice into small pieces for stir frying. Set aside.
- Spiralize your zucchini. If you don’t have a spiralizer, just cut julienne style. I use this spiralizer . Make sure to pat your zucchini noodles extra dry with a towel. To remove excess water. Place zucchini noodles (zoodles) at the bottom of the casserole dish and set aside.
- Next prepare the stir fry sauce. Whisk together the fish sauce, chili sauce, ginger, tamari + sugar (to equal the dark soy sauce), lime, pinch of pepper. Taste and adjust with more tamari/sugar if needed. For Paleo option, use coconut sugar or molasses.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high. Add oil. When the pan starts sizzling add the onion and garlic. Saute until fragrant. Add the chicken brown for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add your stir fry veggie mix, sliced red pepper, sauce, and 2-3 tablespoon tapioca starch. Mix until well coated then stir fry 10 minutes or until chicken is no long pink (but not overcooked).
- Transfer the chicken stir fry with sauce on top of zoodles in the casserole dish; spread evenly.
- Next, whisk the eggs and coconut milk.
- Pour the egg batter evenly over the casserole dish then place the dish in oven and bake 25-30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the egg mix is cooked through.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5 – 10 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with Thai basil and optional sliced Thai peppers.
- Season to taste to taste.
- Sesame seeds to sprinkle over top, if desired.
Notes
- For soy free option use coconut Aminos in place of tamari sauce
- If you don’t have thai red pepper, you can use any other spicy red pepper. Thai red peppers are Available in the Asian foods section or produce section of some supermarkets, or at some Asian markets.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 40 min
- Category: Main
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: Asian American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 264
- Sugar: 6.2g
- Sodium: 1094.9mg
- Fat: 13.7g
- Saturated Fat: 4.3g
- Carbohydrates: 12.1g
- Fiber: 2.2g
- Protein: 23.1g
- Cholesterol: 137.5mg
Grab a plate, or bowl, or whatever. Fork optional. Feel free to face plant. No rules with this zoodle casserole dish!
If you were tomake anAsian dish into a healthyishcasserole, what would you make?
I’m game for more
Cheers!
